The Swordswoman and the Tiger
by AllBlueChaser
Summary: A Zo/San retelling of the Lady and the Tiger that I wrote a a few years ago. Zoro wants to know if things had to end with the blond, which way would his lover prefer.


Title: What's behind the door?  
Words: 905 (verbose again)  
topic: Doors  
rating: Pg13  
pairing: Sanji/Zoro  
Notes: A slight retelling of this story....org/wiki/The_lady_or_the_tiger  
Written: 10-7-2008 

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_The story goes like this…_

There is this blond prince, he is handsome and smart…the pride of the kingdom. He falls in love with one of the countrys greatest warriors…a strong green haired swordsman and they become lovers.

The king becomes livid for he already had another planned for his precious eggplant prince of a son. He asks the warrior to leave the prince alone…and he complies at first, but he is drawn to the lonely prince and together they defy the king.

The warrior is taken captive and set to face judgment under the rule of the kingdom. A kingdom set upon the value of fate and luck. He is brought to the capitals battle arena and told to choose between two doors. Let his luck and the judgment of the gods decide if his defiance was his death sentence or worthy of a reward.

One door holds one of the finest beauties in the kingdom, enough wealth to live comfortably with a family for the rest of their lives, and an officient ready to wed the warrior and his new beauty on the spot.

The other holds back a large, hungry and ferocious tiger ready to rip the green haired man apart.

The warriors affair with the prince was over, no matter what the outcome, to the kings delight.

The warrior stood before the crowd, and bowed to the king. No one noticed the eyes flick to the Prince in that moment. The warrior knew his lover would know which door held what fate.

And indeed, the prince had researched and made the proper bribes to find the answer to the most anticipated secret that held the life of his man in the balance.

The warrior didn't know the depth of this knowledge. That not only the prince knew which door held what…but the blond knew the details down to where the tiger was captured, it's name, the length of its large teeth and the markings of it's stripes.

Even more disturbing though was the information behind the other door. She, the prospective bride they had found, wasn't just any girl. She was a rival of sorts for the warriors heart. A dark haired woman who handled a sword with the best of them…someone the warrior had a strong past connection with. One that could make the warrior happy in time…make him forget the prince almost entirely.

The prince thought about the raw agonizing stabbing pain of his lovers death that would fade with time. He thought about thick throbbing pain and jealously fueled hatred he would have to endure for his lifetime watching his love blissfully with another.

These two doors behind the warrior…he knew his lovers eyes would ask and he wondered before this moment which way his eyes would indicate.

The princes' blue eye met the warriors and flicked to the door to the right.

The warrior rose and the crowd cheered with excitement as the warrior strode confidently to the door on the right. 

"So…" Sanji asked as he exhaled the cigarette, trying his hardest not to seem too wrapped up to the Marimos impromptu story and grinning despite himself at how uncharacteristically cute it was to see him add the two pirates to it as well. "What was behind the door? Lady or tiger?"

Zoro rolled over to his side and seriously considered the blond a moment.

"That's how it ends…it asks what was behind the door. Sanji…what was behind the door?"

The grin turned into a more introspective smirk...ahhh...maybe Zoro was looking for some clue to Sanjis character. He closed his eyes to picture it.

Sanji was looking at Zoro in that arena. It was a deep look. And he smirked at him. Zoro returned the smirk. Sanjis eyes flicked to the right. Zoro strode to the door confidently as the crowd went wild. He pulled the door open…

"I'm not going to give you up so easily." Sanji murmured to the swordsman.

The huge tiger burst from the door but the swordsman was ready and slid under the beast.

"The tiger then?" Zoros voice came over the image, unreadable. The tiger spun in confusion ready to nail its prey with a long paw full of extended claws.

"If things end between us…don't you think it should be in a fight, under our own power?"

A sudden explosive kick from prince Sanjis foot sends the tiger skittering across the arena.

"Between the two of us I think we can take out a shitty over grown pussy cat."

Zoro laughed, even as his alter ego caught the swords the prince tossed him.

"I can take care of it by myself."

"Maybe but you'd get your ass lost as when we grab the money and run for the border."

Zoros leaned in closer… somehow picturing the same vision of the prince and the warrior running off with the goods, kingdom be damned.

"You made this story have a much happier ending than it's supposed to." Zoro tried to condemn but ended up placing a kiss on the blonds lips anyway.

"We're pirates…it's better for us if we make our own rules. Besides I'm a romantic at heart, it's not a real story till the heros ride off happily in the sunset."

The cook still wasn't positive what the swordsman had been fishing for but as he was rewarded with another kiss, he figured his answer was good enough.


End file.
